ADDRESS 
 
 OP 
 
 John A. Minnis. 
 
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 CHARGES 
 
 OP 
 
 HON. RICHARD BUSTEED. 
 
 Montgomery, Ala., July I, 1872. 
 
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ADDRESS 
 
 OF 
 
 John A. Minnis. 
 
 
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 i¥ " Jli>^ 
 
 CH ARQES 
 
 OF 
 
 HON. RICHARD BUSTEED. 
 
 Montgomery, Ala., July I, 1872. 
 
>*■ 
 
TO THE PEOPLE OF ALABAMA. 
 
 It is known tn most of vou, (hat various persons have 
 been indicted in the United States District Court 
 in the northern and middle tlistricts of Alabama, for viola- 
 tions of the Enforcement Actn of Congrewfl, popularly 
 knowu as the KuKlux laws. 
 
 At the last term at Uuntsville, six were tried and con- 
 victed ; and ar the May term here, just adjourned, neveu 
 were tried and convicted, and one pleaded guilty. 
 
 These laws, and trials under them, have been mrmt 
 bitterly assailed and denounced, and although Irecpiently 
 >jr<;ed to do so, I had determined not to say anything to 
 iho public, but to leave the convictions and developments 
 made on the trials to speak for themselves, l>ut seeii'^; 
 papers North and South continue their course of bitter 
 denunciations, and with such gross misrepresentations, 
 and knowing that the true facts scarcely ever reach the 
 public ear, I have determined, for the vindication of truth, 
 to lay before vou aa briefly as I can, a few of the facts, and 
 to which I call your serious attention. 
 
 The Montgomery Mail and Adveriifier, of the 27th of 
 June, 1872, under the head of "Men who are in Prison," 
 purports to give a brief history of a man by the name of 
 Moore, from South Carolina, who before the war was a well 
 to do farmer in Alabama, and at the close of the war hired 
 a few of his former slaves and commenced life anew. If 
 this is not entirely a fancy sketch, it must be intended to 
 apply to Sam Moore, originally, as I believe, from South 
 Carolina, at the commencement of the war a farmer in 
 Limestone county, Alabama, and to which place he returned 
 after the war, and at the last terra of the Huntsvillo 
 United States District Court, convicted and sentenced to 
 the Albany Penitentiary for ten years. This is the only 
 man of that name, who had lived in Alabama, that I have 
 any knowledge or ever heard of being convicted ; and in 
 his case the outrage was so great, so revolting to humanity, 
 the proof of his guilt so manifest, that his defense was 
 placed upon purely legal grounds. Coun<'el in his defense 
 
did not even pretend to argue o* intirante that be Wiis not 
 .s:iiilty, and such was the desperation of tiis character, that 
 the whole community, who tiad turned out to secure his 
 arrest — tor the truth is, he was arrested by the citizens — 
 expressed tiiemselves gratified when he Was removed to 
 Huntsville, and expressed a sincere hope that he never 
 would be permitteci to return to tlie county, to disturb its 
 peace. Fie was known to be the leader of a desperate 
 Klan. "When he was arrested lie threatened man}' ot the 
 iitizens. leiiiiig them they then bad their crowd, he would 
 have his by and by, and would attend to tl)em. I was in 
 Limestone county soon after he was arrested, and was told 
 h}' leading Democrats, the best citizens of the county, that 
 it' he w:is turned loose, and made his appearance on the 
 streets in Athens, the county seat, there were a dozen 
 n»pn who would feel bound to sboot him down in selt- 
 defence. 
 
 I have no desire to do any injury to Moore or any living 
 man. I am sorry to feel compelled to say a word upon 
 his case, but in m}' judgment, the vindication of truth re- 
 quires this much, and I appeal to every honorable man ot 
 any party in Limestone county, where he lived, and every 
 (uie that heard his trial, for the truth of all that 1 have said, 
 and much more that might be said. Whilst I have as mnch 
 sympathy as any man for the unfortunate (if you will have 
 it so) men convicted and sent to prison; still I cannot loose 
 all sympathy ior the dying shrieks and groans of the victims 
 uf these hellish Klaus; prayers and agonies of their victims 
 under the lash, for the smoke from the burning ruins of 
 their generally humble homes, the grief, suifering, wants 
 and misery of their widows and orphans; these often in- 
 nocent and helpless victims, surely are entitled to some 
 sympathy ; they have not had the privilege awarded to 
 their persecutors of a fair and impartial public trial by a 
 jtiry of their own selection, with counsel and witnesses in 
 their defence. The cases of these poor victims have been 
 determined by midnight self-constituted conclaves, and 
 their orders mercilessly, in the midhours of night promptly 
 by men in disguise, put into execution with more "than 
 fiendish ferocity. And in several instances when good men. 
 had notice of some of the outrages that were about to be 
 committed, and had the courage to go to these Klaus, and 
 plead, or attempt to do so, with them to let the law take its 
 course, tthey were answered by these monsters in human 
 shape in disguise, in quUerel toiler: "We arc the law ! We 
 are the law ! We are the law ! " 
 
 The same paper, in the same issue, under the head of 
 
"The Grant Platform." charged th^t National Statutes in 
 force, are odious, to break the spirit of onr people and 
 make them slave!? to federal power ; that |)eaceable cit- 
 izens are Hiiatciied away from their bnsineHs and homes, 
 Hi)d taken to other States in violation of private ripht and 
 (JooKtitution of the land ; that the spy, the bayonet, the 
 unborned witneMses, b»'ibed jury and partisan judtre liavR 
 full sway over the lives, property and rights of five mil- 
 lions of people ; that the whole legislation of Congress, in 
 re;;»rd to the 8ouih. has been one grand and infamous 
 purpose to subordinate the white man to the nejrro ; that 
 reconstruction, the Fourteenth Amendment, Ku KIux Act, 
 all discriminated by reason of race and political creed ; 
 that Ku-Klux pretended evils, are Ku-Klux goblins, to 
 correct which the Government has resorted to unconstitu- 
 tional law, and interfered with rights not surrendered by 
 the people to either State or National Government. 
 
 As to the charge of partisan judge, this in Alabama can 
 oidy be intended to apply to Judge Busteed. It is well 
 known to yon all, that Judge IJnsteed has persistently, up 
 to a late period, denied the existence in Alabama of sucli 
 an organized Klan as Ku-K.lux. and that he has constantlv 
 been quoted as the highest authority against such an or- 
 ganizaiu^n; that before the Congressional Committee he 
 gave testimony, honestly no doubt, against its existence 
 in Alabama. 1 know that even after many indictments 
 had been found for outrages, banding and conspiring, etc., 
 in North Alabama, he still did not think it whs by organ- 
 ized bands, and that he so wrote to the Department of 
 Justice. 1 know that he stuck to, and avowed this opinion, 
 until the proof was so overwhelmingly convincing that, 
 much against his prepossessions, he was forced to change 
 his opinion ; put when lully convinced, like a pure patriot, 
 an honest man atid an upright judge, he did not fail in him 
 doty to faithfully administer the law for the suppression 
 of this most diabolical evil. A-s long as Judge Busteed 
 fould be made to believe and express that belief, that 
 there was no such organization, with these pretended de- 
 fenders of our people, he was a great and good man, and a 
 pure and an upright judge ; but as soon as the proof 
 showed him his error, and he nad the firmness and honest^' 
 to announce the truth, lie at once, in their opinion, be- 
 comes the parti/an judge. 
 
 As to perjured witnesses, it is a suggestive fact that in 
 all there trials and convictione, not one single colored 
 witness has been charged with swearing falsely; the 
 whole charge is made a? to witnesses who a few months 
 
4 
 
 ajro were the comp-iiilons and assaciatep, a)id fully endorsed 
 and accredited by iliose men who now charge them with 
 perjury. 
 
 As to bribed juries, I make this challenge: That whilst 
 I do not charge that any juryman iu Alabama has eVer 
 iieen, or olferrd to be bribed, still ttwt if such is the fact, 
 1 challenge invet^tigation, and will show the only bribe 
 ever offered to, or accepted by jurors or witnesses, was in 
 favor of defendants and not the Government. 
 
 And now to show you how Judge Busteed was forced to 
 change his opinion of this matter, and to show you the ex- 
 istance and diabolical pnrposes of the ortranization, 1 call 
 your attention to the following charges of Judg;e Busteed 
 TO the jury in the case of the United States vs. R. G. 
 Young, J. D. Young, Rindgnld Young and Neal Uarkius, 
 and also in the case of the [Jnired States vs. R. S. Gray, 
 George Howard and James Blankt^: 
 
 Gentlemen of the Jury : 
 
 The prisoners at the bar are charged with violating two 
 of the public laws. They are accused, under the sixth 
 section of the act of Congress, approved May 31, 1870, 
 and the second section of the act approved April 20, 1871. 
 The sixth settiotis are in tliese words : "If two or more 
 j>erson8 shall band or conspire together, or go in disguise 
 upon the public highway, or upon the premises of another, 
 with intent to violate any provision of this act. or to injure, 
 oppress^ threaten or intimidate any citizen, with intent to 
 prevent or hinder his free exercise or enj<ivment of any 
 right or privilege granred or securred to him by the con- 
 stitution or laws of the United States, or because of hi.s 
 having exercised the same, such person shall be held guilty 
 of a felony;" and the second section of the act of 1871 
 provides that, if '"two or more person^< within any State or 
 Territory of the United States shall conspire togetlier, or 
 go in diguit^e upon the public highway, or upon the prem- 
 ises of another, for the purpose, either directly or indi- 
 rectly, of depriving such person of the equal protection 
 of the laws, each and every person so ofiending shall be 
 deemed guilty of a high crime. 
 
 The offense described b\ the statutes if^ what is known 
 a<* a conspiracy, which is defined as the "cornxpt ogrceivq 
 fogefher of two or more persons to do, by concerted action, 
 something unlawftd, either as a means or an end." 
 
 The "United States, in this case, have proved the exist- 
 ence of an orL::anization commonly known as the Ku-Klux 
 Kian, and have proved the ends this organization proposes, 
 
or 
 
 and the moans by wliicli they were to he acconHtlirihofI* 
 'J he witDesf»e8, Nelson, Williamw, Baines, McGlau^lui, 
 K»tni(livant, Hanell, Cabiuess, Webb, William.i and G»eeii 
 Siurdivaut, were severally members of the klau or the 
 victims of its atrocity. N«lson, Williams, McGlaagha 
 and Russia?! Sturdivant were themselves initiated into it-* 
 bloody mysteries. Ilarrell, iu)W of" Georgia, a lawyer and 
 the editor and proprietor ot a Democratic newspaper, t<^s- 
 tiljes to the existence oi the klau, in Alabauja, at the time 
 and place tixed b}' the witnesses who are proved to havo 
 belonged to it. This witness, with a becoming sense oi 
 what is due to the opinions of mankind, avails himself of 
 his light not to anhwer whether, before J87(), he was a 
 member of the order, but testified that ho had no connec- 
 tion with it since that year. It is evident that, aroused 
 by conscience and civilized notions, he has availed himself 
 ot the locus peiiileniice. The witnefeses, iJHrnes, Cabines?, 
 Webb Williams, and Green Sturdivant, were severely tor- 
 tured and whipped, and o})pres.-jed, by this hell conceived 
 combination. 
 
 I have DO ditirulty in declaring it to be the law of the land 
 that the organization «i!' a Ku Klux Klan is the consumma- 
 tion ot jUot suci) a conspiracy and banding to;>:other as it 
 was intened by those statutes t<» punish, and that whoever 
 eprolp himself on its ii&t oi membership, and takes its obli- 
 gation, is H conspirator within the intent and meaning of 
 those laws. 
 
 What is the oltjecf of the Ku Klnx Klau? Hear it 
 s'ated from the lips of those who, in an evd hour, allowed 
 theuiselves to become members of it. Doctor Nelson de- 
 clares its oiijfcct was "to control governmental affairs in the 
 Uuited States; to protect each other, and, ii any member 
 of the order was ai rested for doing anything as a Ku-Klux, 
 we were to release him. if in d(jing «o we hdd to burn 
 every prisson in the State." To all this the witness tells us, 
 the members of tlie klan were oath bound, and the penalty 
 lor divulging any of its secrets was deaih. 
 
 The witness, Williams, tells us that the klan had no 
 .stated place for convening — that its members met in out 
 o( the Way fields and graveyards, in disguises, and at 
 niiiht. 
 
 Mr. Barnes has put before you the notice which was 
 jiffixedio the gate of his premises by this l)and of murderous 
 out-laws, in the month ot January. l6l[. It consists of 
 tlie outlines of a cotiiu, with his name in the centre, and a 
 notice that ten days would be allowed him to leave the 
 country. It is signed with the cabaliotic letters. He has 
 
8 
 
 jilso put before you the notice wiiicb, in Febrnary, 1871, 
 the Ku-K!ux placed ou the cliurch door, near to the school 
 bouse which these marHuders subeequently burned dowi;. 
 Thi» preciouB document in in words and figures as, follows; 
 
 "I Jake an emba^ter from the tombt; do come torewarn- 
 inrj the j)Oopie of Pearson Ohappel naborhfX>d from infer- 
 ring; anyone him her or from undertakinjz' a school without 
 the coupent of every man and women in the naborhood, 
 that winheB to send to school — if suffered the house will 
 share (he fate of New Ehim for our purpose is to have 
 quiettude peace and harn)ouy throughout the land, which 
 is the life ot all nations." ' "K K. K." 
 
 Mr. Barnes has also put before you the notice taken from 
 the ruins of the school house, after it was burned by these 
 wretched enemies of learning and religion. This last no- 
 tice was put up by the Ku Khix as lately as the month of 
 April, of last year. It is in words and figures as follows: 
 
 "We are here for pease and expect to have peas© in our 
 country if we cant have it one way we con a nother We 
 truly hope that the members of Pearson's chapel will brake 
 up the school at the meeting bouse if not it will bare the 
 Fnte that New Elam Did And I further more say if Dock 
 Barnes dont hold his peace Hell will be his portion We 
 dont want to burn the house but if the school is not stop- 
 ped it will burn down immediately this is written by the 
 Commander of the Cross Roads and Recorded bv the 
 Devils clerk." "K. K. K.'' 
 
 Mr. Barnes, you' must recollect, never belonged to th« 
 Ku-Klux. Hft was its deadly enemy. No complicity 
 with its foul deeds weakens or etains his testimony. The 
 defense conlesses his credibility. No witness, as in the 
 case of McG!au::hn. is called to prove that Barn* ought not 
 to be believed, He stands before you admitted to be 
 worthy to be received as a truthful witnesss, and his tes- 
 timony is corroboration of the strotigest kind of the wit- 
 nesses, McGlaughn, Russian Sturdivant and Nelson, three 
 of the classs designated as accomplices. 
 
 The witness McGlaughn testifies what the objects of the 
 Ku-Klux were, and how those objects were to bo accom- 
 plished. The prisoner, Griffin Young, who is represented 
 to have been re^^ognized by the klan as its chief, suspected 
 Mr. Cabiness, the foreman of his tannery, ol having taken 
 from the yard several skins. Straightw.w the klan is as- 
 sembled, under the leadership of the Prisoner, John 1>. 
 Young, its disguise put od, is marched to the residence of 
 the prisoner. Griffin Young, where and with Avhom John 
 D. Young has a conference, and immediately Cabiness is 
 
9 
 
 visited by tlic klan in dispjuise, informed tluit lie \v;\s sus- 
 pected of liaviD^; taken the skins from Griffin Young, and 
 jjis promises searched. Not (inding what tliey were after, 
 the klan inforRied Mr. Cabiness that he must replace the 
 skins, and that if he would pay the prisoaor, Griffin Young, 
 li r the missing leather, there would bo no more done to 
 hiiQ thereafter. Cabiness denied to the teeth of the mask- 
 ers that he had any of the property of the prisoner, Griffin 
 Young, and charged upon them that their visit to him was 
 to gratify Griffin Young's spite, because he (Cabiness) had 
 eet up an opposition tannery. The khm answered him by 
 the question: ''How would 5^ou like to see your length 
 measured on the ground?" accompanying it with a threat 
 that the mattdr between him and Griffin would "have to bo 
 straightened up in six days," or they would "come back, 
 and there would be worse times than ever." 
 
 Now, gentlemen of the jury, you must bear in mind that 
 Mr. Cabiness is not an accomplice, and that je corroborates 
 the testimony of McGlaughu in its essential features. The 
 defense attempted to make a case against McGlaughn, on 
 the ground that his character for truth was bad, and that 
 he was an accomplice. You will give this attack the 
 weight it deserves, but no amount of argument or proof 
 as to McGlaughn can lessen the force of the testimony of 
 Mr. Cabiness, and he proves that the Ku-Klux did in rela- 
 tion to him precisely v.'hat McGlaughn had previously 
 sworn. 
 
 The witness Russian Sturdivant, joined the Ku-Klux 
 just as he reached the age of twenty years. He tells you 
 that Uarkens, the prisoner, was the first person who ever 
 told him of the existence of such an organization, and 
 asked him if he did not want to join it. iiarkins told him 
 it was "a good thing to keep peace in the country." Under 
 these really false representations, but which Sturdivnnt 
 believed to be true, he joined the infamous gang. I do 
 not know how the appearance of this young man, twenty- 
 two years of age, upon the witness stand, imi)ressed you. 
 It appears to the Court tiiat, notwithstanding his brief 
 association with the diabolical Ku-Klux Klan, his better 
 nature is stronger than his vicious lapse. I have no doubt 
 he spoke the truth. This is but my opinion to you, how- 
 ever. 
 
 Sturdivant tells us what the object of the Ku-Klux 
 were. In his own phraseology, "the object was to keep 
 organized, to protect the Democratic party, and to keep 
 niggers down." On his direct examination he gave us 
 illustrations of the signs of recognition used by tlio Ku- 
 
 3 
 
10 
 
 Klus, and tald the pass words and distress cry, and on 
 liis c»os8 examination by the defense, and upon their de- 
 mand, recited the oath which is adminifetered to persons 
 when they are initiated. He tells you the oath is this: 
 
 "You do solemnly swear, before Almighty God and the 
 Avitnesses present, that you will never divulge any secret 
 of this order yon are about to become a member of, and 
 that you will faithfully discharge your duty as a member. 
 tiO help you God; and that you will protect the Democratic 
 party, and if any of the order shall be arrested and put in 
 jail, you will release him by night or day, as the circum- 
 stances may be." 
 
 Sturdivant testified that the penalty for divulging the 
 secrets of the order was death. He tells you that he has 
 seen the prisoner, Harkins, at meetings of the klan, and 
 was with him on a raid to whip a negro near "Mr. Adams' 
 mill," and in the raid against !i,andolph Pearson; that he 
 and the prisoners, John D. Young and Ringgold Young, 
 were engaged in the burning of the African church, and 
 that Ringgold Young, with himself and others, were in the 
 raid at Walker's, in December, 1870, or Januaiy 187X, 
 when a negro who was about to be whipped ran away, and 
 was shot as he attempted to escape. 
 
 It is proper that you should recollect that no attempt 
 has been made to impeach the testin»ony of SturdivtiMt by 
 in'oof direct against his character for truth and veracity. 
 The defense calls no witnesses for this purpose. 
 
 The witness, Curtis Williams, testifies that he has seen 
 the prisoner, Ringgold Young, in the disguise of a Ku- 
 Klux; that so disguised he accompanied him to < 'be 
 Thomas' to whip a negro; that after this whipping they 
 went to Christian s place and whipped a negro woman and 
 her boy. Ho testifies that the Prisoner GrifiBn Young, in- 
 vited him to be one of a party to put E. W. Barns out of 
 the way, who Griffin Young said would ruin the Ku-Klux 
 Klan if ho was not put out of the way. This witness tes- 
 tifies that Griffin Young wae spoken of m the klan as the 
 c3'clops. 
 
 He also testifies to the persuasions of Griffin Young on 
 the subject of his being called as a witness before the grand 
 jury, during which he tried to impress him with the idea 
 that he was not compelled, on being sworm before that 
 body, to tell what he knew about the Ku-Klux. 
 
 It is true that Williams is an accomplice. He comes be- 
 fore you as do the other accomplices, under that cluud,but 
 the defense do not attack his general character for truth 
 
11 
 
 and voracity, aiul liid tostiinony is corroborated in many 
 essential respects by E, W. Barnes. 
 
 The witness, Webb, a black man, corroborates the testi- 
 mony of the witnesses who were the accomplices of the 
 ))risonor8. Ho provos the rifiit to the honse on the last 
 ni-'ht oi the year 1870, of eig'htccn men in disgnises of the 
 Kn-Klnx; their moasnriii^:; him lor his coffin; their beatiiii;- 
 him; their threats that they wonkl whip all Radicals, black 
 and white; their injunction against his voting at elections; 
 their expression of their purpose to burn the Elam A.fricau 
 church that night, and the burning of it in a quarter of au 
 liuur after they left his house. 
 
 The witness, Wiley Williams, also corroborates material 
 testimony given by the accomplices. He proves the burn- 
 ing o! the church on the last night of the year 187U, and 
 that ho was visited by the Ku KIux in disgui-K^ that same 
 night, severely whipped, brutally kicked, and measured for 
 his coffin, alter being first being interrogated as to how he 
 voted, and cursed for voting the Republican ticket. 
 
 Green Sturdivaut testifies in corroboration of material 
 fscts sworn to by the witnesses who wore accomplices. 
 He proves the burning of the church by men in the dis- 
 guises of the Ivu-Klux, and their visit to his own house; 
 their whipping him severely and measuring him for hia 
 coffin. Mr, Maxwell also proves the fact of the church 
 burning ou the 31st of December, 1870. 
 
 This is the case as it is presented to you by the United 
 States. The crime charged, in plain language, is that the 
 prisoners Were Ku-Klux. How do the prisoners au- 
 bwer it? 
 
 The prisoner, Ringgold Young, sets up an alibi as to the 
 single act of burning the Elam church. Y(m will recollect 
 the testimony of the black man, Thomas, on this point. I 
 pass it in pity .md without further comment It true, its 
 only tendency or efl'ect would be to lelieve Ringgold Young 
 of participation in the Iniruing of Elam church. It makea 
 no attempt at denying that ke was a member of the Ku- 
 Klux, or that he went on the raids testified to by Curtis 
 Williams, or those testified to by McGlaughn and Stur- 
 divaut. 
 
 The general defense is, that the prisoners bore a good 
 character, and that the witnesH, McGlaughn, bore a bad 
 character for truth, and that he aud the witnesses, Curtis 
 Williams aud Russian Sturdivant. being accomplices of the 
 prisoners are not to be believed. 
 
 Aud first as to the good character of the accused. The 
 law presumes that a man of good character will not commit 
 
12 
 
 crime. This is the substance of it. But when reliablo 
 evidence is adduced tlnat such a man has committed it, the 
 presumption arising out of good character is overcome, and 
 previous good character is of no avail. Before the Rev. 
 Dr. Dodd committed the forgery for which he was hanged 
 in England, his charactes way irreproacaable. Before 
 professor Webster murdered Dr. Parkman in Boston, he 
 stood as well as any man in New England. He killed 
 Parkman, and was hanged for doing so. Satan himself was 
 an archangel before he became the devil. 
 
 The defendant, Harkins, called four witnesses as to his 
 character. Three of these did not know what his char- 
 acter Was, and the other, Mr. Jarvis, testified of it in this 
 language: "I think I know his general character; I think 
 it is good." 
 
 The other deiendants, Reuben G. Young, John D. Young 
 and Ringgold Young, trom out ot all their neighbors and 
 acquaintances, call three persons to prove their general 
 character. JVlr. Thomas testifies that "the general char- 
 acter of Reuden G. Young and Ringgold Young is good, as 
 far as I know," and thinks John D. Young's general charac- 
 ter is good. Mr. John Morgan testifies that Reuben G. 
 Young's general character "is very fair — very quiet and 
 peaceable." Be knows nothing about the general char- 
 acter of Ringgold or John D. Young. Mr. Charles B. 
 Welsh is not examined as to the general character of Ring- 
 gold Young or John D. Young. He testifies that the gen- 
 eral character of Reuben Griffin Young was formerly good, 
 but that it was now bad, and has been bad since last year. 
 
 Gentlemen of the jury, I would be false to the duty I 
 owe this case, if I did not instruct you that, as a matter ot 
 law^ the defense of previous good character has not been 
 proven. 
 
 At this juncture, and before considering the question of 
 the testimony of an accomplice, i wish to instruct you that 
 it is a maxim of the law that in a case where the proofs 
 are not absolutely convincing to the mind of a juror, so as 
 to enable him at once to find a verdict, free from misgiv- 
 ings as to its correctness, the accused shall have the benefit 
 ot any reasonable doubt that is engendered by the evidence 
 itself. "Reasonable certainty of the prisoner's guilt is thai 
 degree of certainty upon which the jurors would act in their 
 own grave and important concerns," 
 
 The case so soon to be given to you, gentlemen of the 
 jury, is one of great and growing interest. Upon its 
 truthful disposition depends very much of the well-being of 
 the people of these communities. If life and liberty are to 
 
13 
 
 be doled out to us by bands of disguised vagabond con- 
 epirators or altogether denied us at their will, the laws are 
 a mockery and society a cheat. Th» ecenes of woe and 
 ruin that will assuredly come to us all if the laws are suc- 
 cessfully defied, are too terrible to picture. 
 
 Th« statutes under which these prisoners are now being 
 tried were intended to embrace every species of wrong or 
 injury committed through the medium of criminal combi- 
 nations, and the evidence submitted to you in this caso 
 proves that there was a necessity that Congress should 
 enact these statues, and th»t they were not enacted a mo- 
 ment to soon. I am shocked and surprised at the develop- 
 ments which have been made. I had no manner ot belief 
 iu the existance of an organized Ku-Klux Klaa in Ala- 
 bama since 1869. I so testified before the joint committee 
 ol Congress when examised before that body in Wash- 
 ington in 1871. I believed and hoped that the dark and 
 cruel monster was dead and burried out of sight and res- 
 urection. Now to refuse to recognize the fact ot its ex- 
 istence and operations as lately as Oetober, 1871, in the 
 counties of Cossa and Tallapoosa, of this State, would be 
 simply to be pitifully and wilfully blind to a proven fiict. 
 It is with this fact you are called upon to deal. In dealing 
 with it if your moral courage be not equal to the demands 
 made by the law upon vour conscience, woe unto yon, for 
 woo must be to the Una that is plagued by the infidelity 
 or cowardice of sworn jurors. 
 
 The prisoners at the bar are upon their trial charged 
 with being members of a corrupt combination which had 
 for its objects the depriving of citizens of rights guaran- 
 teed and secured by the constitusion and laws — a combi- 
 nation which stole the robes of justice and converted them 
 into the garments of hideous disguise — a combination 
 that spared neither age nor sex — a combination which had 
 no fixed place for ttie convocation of its members, but 
 which sallied forth under the cover of the night and in 
 forms of terror, from barroH Gelds and full church yardn, 
 to burn and lay waste the edifices of religion and learning, 
 to kill those who worshipped or were taught therein; to 
 consign to premature graves, men, women and children in 
 robust health; a combination which, from the embers of 
 crime lighted the fires of sacrifice, and placed upon the 
 dtsocrated alters of religion the burnt-oflb rings of^ sin. 
 
 Any people who will not, when they may, consign to just 
 punishment those outlaws, deserves to suffer all the horrors 
 their existence produces, and by the poetry of justice the 
 
14 
 
 juror wlio s^mpathi.-es witli thorn or their crimes, ought to' 
 be their very next victim. 
 
 There is but one question in the case, gentlemen of the 
 jury, which remains for 3^our consideration, and that is, do 
 you believe the witnesses produced before you by the" 
 uovernmunt? If you do, this is a legitimate and legal end 
 ot it, and authorizes you, if you are so minded, to render a 
 verdict of guilty without leaving your seats. 
 
 Ought you to believe them? Of course, as to all the 
 witnesses who were not accomplices with the prisoners at 
 the bar in the combination known as the Ku-Klux, you 
 will reject, or receive their testimony upon the same prin- 
 ciples which obtain Ib res|)ect of proof in any case; as to 
 th(>se, there is no occasion that I should lay down any par- 
 ticular rule. As to the witnesses who confess themselves 
 accomplices, and whose testimony was naturally thesul)ject 
 ot severe animadversion by the counsel for the defense, I 
 observe to you that ever since the establishment ot legal 
 tribunals it has been found necessary and expedient for the 
 ascertainment of the truth and the detection and punish- 
 ment of great criminals, to resort to the testimony ot ac- 
 complices. The prime quality of an expert in crime is 
 the tidlent fi>r concealment. All the plans of wi^ckeduess.. 
 have reference to creating difficulties in the way of its de- 
 tection, and this is true whether the violations of law ba 
 the act oi a single individual or of several individuals in 
 concert. In the pursuit of crime we can only employ, 
 hujnan agencies, and the^e, be it remembered, are the 
 same agencies which are employed by the transgressor to 
 commit it, so that its concealment and detection is but a 
 strife between intellectual force. 
 
 The law receives the confession of a man against him- 
 self as the very highest evidence, and the evidence of a 
 man agiiinst his accomplices, with certain precautionaiy 
 attendants, as proof upon which it is entirely safe for court'a 
 ■of justice to rely. 
 
 it has been the practice to instruct juries to receive the 
 testimony of accomplices with great circumspection, and 
 It has also been usual for judges to advise that before full 
 credence is given to it, the jury require some corroboration 
 <}f the material parts ot the accomplice's testimony This 
 iiorroboration is very often found in the existence ot inde- 
 pendent facts connected with the testimony of the accom- 
 plice, but provable by other testimony* The case at the 
 bar furnishes a notable illustration of this doctrine. The 
 accomplices, by their direct testimony, prove the unlawful 
 confederating of the prisoners, for the unlawful purposes 
 
of the Ku Klux Klan; ami unimpeaclied witnesses prove 
 the coniniissioii by the accused of -several of the overt acL.s 
 of the combination, amoiij^ them the whippiii;^ of the ue- 
 c:roes, and the burnin<;- of the church and the school house; 
 8'o tliat if the hiw now wore that the evidence of accom- 
 plices couhl not be received by the jury unless accomfjau- 
 ied by corroborative proof, the case before us wouhi bo 
 ch>ariy within the rule. This is not the law, however. 
 Th(? testimony of all witnesses who are permitted' to bu 
 examined is j;iven in char^^o to the jury, who may, and 
 must upon their own couscientious and intellectual appro- 
 oiiition of it, give it such consideratiou as they think it 
 on^-Jit to have, They may thus, if the circuinstances war- 
 rant it, disbelieve entirel}' the testimony of a person who 
 was never so much as ciiar;Aed with crime, and as ap;:iir)sL 
 him place entire confidence in a witness who, up to tlu> 
 hour of his testifying, has been continually associaU-d 
 with guilt. In other words, the whole matter of liow much 
 or how little a witness shall bo believed, is within the ex- 
 clusive control of the jury empannellod to try the causes. 
 Formerly, a witness who had an interest in the result of a 
 suit was regarded as incompetei\t. Now such a witness is 
 admitted to testify, and the jury determines how much, if 
 any, he is influenced to swerve irom that fact. Formerly, 
 it would have been considered monstrous to allow a party to 
 the cou+roversy ti) testfy in his own behalf, ^ow, the 
 parties may be witnesses for themselves and the jury de- 
 termines how much credit the}' are entitled to. As W;ih 
 remarked in the case of The Peof)le vs. Whipj)le, 9 Cowan, 
 707, the admission of accomplices as witnesses "tends 
 to prevent any extensive agreement among atrocious 
 criminals." 
 
 It has been hekl in South Carolina and in Maine, that 
 "the evidence of an accomplice is altogether tor the jury, 
 and they, if they please, may act upon it without anv con- 
 firmation of his statements;" and in New Yotk the well 
 settled doctrine is, that "the testimony of an accomplice, 
 if the jury are satisfied of its truth, will warrant the con- 
 viction of the accused, though it be uiicorrol)erat(id by anv 
 other testimony." This accords with the reason and the 
 philosophy of the law. 
 
 In the case before us, if the testimony of the witnesses 
 who have themselves been members of the Ku ivlux Klan 
 were not corroborated by the other witnesses, and the in- 
 dependent iacts I have before alluded to, you might yet 
 find the prisoners guilty u[)on the unsupiiorted evideuco 
 of the accoTuplicos, and it would be your clear duty to da 
 
16 
 
 this if the testimony piven by them satisfied you of its 
 trathfulness. Upon this subject as upon all others within 
 vour province, you reason and conclude according to your 
 intelligence and your conscience. 
 
 Gentlemen of the jury, the Court now confides this case 
 to you for a rerdict. Take it into your keeping. The 
 majesty of the law, and the safety of the citizens are in 
 your charge. Beware how you trifle with either- for aa 
 yon hold the scales of justice between these, favorivOg 
 neither, but honest to both, so you will be esteemed in this 
 life and in the great future to which it is the prelude. 
 God help you, gentlemen of the jury, to be faitnful and 
 fearless. 
 
 <Jentlemen of the Jury : 
 
 The prisoners at the bar are charged by an indictment 
 of a grand jury, with having violated two of the acts of 
 Congress, one approved May 31, 1870, and the other ap- 
 
 f roved April 20, 1871. The sixth section of the act of 
 870, is in these words: "If two or more persons shall 
 band or conspire together, or go in disguise upon the public 
 highway, or upor the premiwes of another, with intent to 
 violate any provisions of this act or to injure, oppress, 
 threaten or intimidate any citizen, with intent to prevent or 
 binder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or priv- 
 ilege granted or secured to him by the constitution of the 
 United States, or because of his having exercised the same; 
 each person shall be held guilty of a felony;" and the 
 eecoiid section of the act of 1871, provides that, if "two or 
 more persons within any State or Territory of the United 
 States, shall conspire together, or go in disguise upon the 
 public highway, or upon the premises of another, for the 
 purpose, either directly or indirectly, of depriving ssch 
 person of the equal protection of the laws, each and every 
 person so oflfending shall be deemtHi guilty of a high 
 
 crime '* 
 
 The offense described by the statutes is what is kqown 
 as a conspiracy, which is defined as 'the corrupt agreeing 
 hgether of two or more persons to do, by concerted action, 
 something unlawful, either as a means or as an end." 
 
 When such a conspiracy is proven to exist, and when it 
 further appears that the accuHod was a member ot it, the 
 law holds him responsible for whatever is done by his co- 
 conspiartors in furtherance of the objects of the corrupt 
 combination, though he himself did not advise the par- 
 ticular act, or participate in it, and although he was com- 
 
17 
 
 pletely ignorant of the intention to commit it, and of the 
 tacts of its commission. 
 
 In tlic case before you, as in a case of a similar character 
 just tried in this Court, the United States have proven the 
 existence and active operations of a band of hiwless nieu 
 associated for criminal purposes in a combinatiorj known 
 as the Ku-Klux Klan. It is evident that as lately as April 
 or May, in the year 1871, this conspiracy existed in an 
 organized form in tlie county of Randolph, in the State 
 of Alabama. Its objects, as declared by those who arc 
 nhovvn to have belonged to it by the testimony of unim- 
 })eached and uncontradicred witnesses, were "to stop Rad- 
 ical whites and negroes from Voting, or holding ollice in 
 the country." "To keep the niggers down and pre- 
 vent their voting," and to keep Radicals from voting." 
 'I'hiy is wnat they were organized to do, and this is as cor- 
 rupt a combination as Was ever formed in defiance of the 
 law and in derogation of righta and privileges both granted 
 and secureil to the people of these States by the constitu- 
 tion, and the laws passed in pursuance of it. 
 
 The XlVth amendment to the constitution of the United 
 States declares that all persons born or naturalized in the 
 United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are 
 citizens of the United States and of the State wherein 
 they reside." 
 
 The XVth amendment to the constitution of the United 
 States, declares that "the rights of citi/ens of the United 
 States to vote shall not be denied or abriged by the Unite<l 
 States or by any State on account of race^ color or previous 
 condition of servitude. The Congress shall have power 
 to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." 
 
 It will be perceived, gentlemen of the jury, that the 
 XlVth amendment to the organic law, is a declaration by 
 the people of the United States, of what constitute citi- 
 zenship among them. All persons, white and black alikr, 
 born on the soil, and subjects of the law and the govern- 
 ment, are, ipso favto, citizens. Every person, white nnd 
 black alike, wherever born, in Africa or in Ireland, in Asia 
 or in Germany, naturalized in the United States, and a 
 subject of their laws and government, is, ipso facto, a 
 litizen. 
 
 It will next bo perceived that the first article of the I5th 
 ami'iulmont to the supreme law of the land, vests in every 
 citizen of the United States, white or black, native or 
 naturalized, the Same right to exercise the elective fran- 
 chise that aoy citizen has, and Congress, following out this 
 
18 
 
 constitutional investment, passed the "act to enforce the 
 right of citizens of the United States to vote in the several 
 States of this Union and tor other purposes." 
 
 The constitution and the laws declare, as you see, that 
 the negro in these communities, shall not be denied the 
 right to vote by reason of his being a black wan, or by 
 reason of his having been a slave, and makes it a crime to 
 attempt to abridge this right. If this crime be attempted 
 by a combination of two or more persoBs, the laws declare 
 it shall be inquired of by, and punished in the courts of the 
 nation, and not by or in the courts of the State. 
 
 Opposed to the constitution of their country, opposed 
 to the laws of their own land, opposed to the universal 
 sense of civilization and Christianity, opposed ^o decency 
 and humanity, comes the Ku-KIux, and banding together, 
 and taking oaths of confederation, deliberately, maliciously, 
 and with purpose predetermined as to means, declare their 
 contempt for tl)e constitution and laws, and avow their in- 
 tention to prevent radical white citizens and radical black 
 citizens from exercising the right of suffrage. 
 
 Does it require a course of reasoning to prove that such 
 a combination is corrupt and unlawful ? or that it should 
 be extirpated, root and branch, by the strong hand of gov- 
 ernment? What is that citizenship worth to the subject 
 which is not protected as well as bestowed ? No, gentle- 
 men of the jury, there is no room for doubt here, and, as I 
 said in another case tried at this term of the court, I have 
 HO difficulty in declaring it to be the law of the land that 
 the organization of a Ku-Klux Klan is the consummation 
 of just such a conspiracy and banding together, as it was 
 the intention of those statute.? to punish, and that who- 
 ever enrols himself on its list of membership, and takes its 
 obligation, is a conspirator within the intent and meaning 
 of the laws of the land. 
 
 It follows that if the proof satisfies you that the prison- 
 ers on trial, wore members of this vile combination, they 
 are guilty as charged, aud your duty is to find them so. 
 
 The United States called Stephen P. Hood, who testified 
 that the prisoner, Gray, admitted to him that he was a Ku- 
 Klax and urged Hood to join the combination. Gray 
 states when and where this conversation occurred. It was 
 on the 17th of April, 1871. 
 
 The prisoner, Howard, told the witness, Hood, that he 
 was in the raid on Mrs. McDowell, and in the raid upon 
 the freedman who lived on the Sewell place, from whose 
 house the Ku Klux stole whiskey and powder. Howard 
 
19 
 
 told Hood tliat they went in disguise, and that he was de- 
 puted to demand a pistol wliicli it was supposed Mrs. 
 McDowell had in hor house; and Mrs. McDowell testifies 
 that the prisoner, Howard, did come in disguise, with a 
 band of Ku-Klux in disguise, and did demand the pistol 
 from her, and that on their leaving her premises, as they 
 ran off, they pelted the house with rocks, This evidence 
 agrees exactly with the evidence given by Hood, and con- 
 firms it in all its material respects. Neither Hood nor 
 Mrs. McDowell is an accomplice. Neither of them were 
 ever a member of the accursed fraternity. Both of them 
 stand before you uncontradicted and unimpeacked. No 
 witness is called who shakes their credibility in the least, 
 and Spencer Thrift, who was himself a member of the 
 Klan, corroborates the testimony of Hood and Mrs. Mc- 
 Dowell, and tef^tifies that he and the prisoner, Howard, 
 were in the raid made against the black man who lived on 
 the Sewell place. 
 
 As to the prisoner Blanks, Hood testifies that he con- 
 fessed his connection with the Klan, and that he partici- 
 pated in the raid on Robert Alien and Whitley, //enry 
 Hunter tells you that Blanks belonged to the Ku-Klux and 
 that Blanks was present when Riifus Barrens, the captain 
 of the organization, showed Hunter the list of persons 
 composnig it and that Blanks' name was upon the roll. 
 Blanks did not deny this, and under the circumstances his 
 silence must be taken as an admission of the fact. 
 
 The witness. Hunter, is not an accomplice. He was not 
 a member of the Klan There is no attempt upon the 
 part of the accufed to show that Hunter is not worthy to 
 be believed by you, and he confirms the testimony of the 
 witjiesB, Hood, who testifies to the confessions made to him 
 by the prisoner, Plant. 
 
 The witness, Thrifts, testifies John to you that the 
 prisoners, Howard and Blanks, were both members of the 
 Ku-Klux in 1871. That Howard was with him on the raid 
 against the colored man. Bill Jjawson, who lived on i^ewell's 
 place, and that the prisoner. Blanks told him hen as go- 
 ing to join the Klan, and afterwards told bim he had 
 joined it. 
 
 Thrifts is a young man, just twenty-two years of age. 
 Ho was seduced into joining the dark-minded conepirators 
 before he had reached his legal majority. He is callivl on 
 the stand laboring under this disadvantage, but it by no 
 means follows that he has not told you the plain, unvarn- 
 ished truth. The ease foi the United States, however, 
 does not stand or fall accordingly as you shall reject or re* 
 
20 
 
 coive his testimony. The material facts to which he was 
 examined had already been testified to by Hood, Spencer 
 Tlirifts and Mrs. McDowell; and as I before suggested, 
 neither of these is an accomplice. 
 
 You have thus before you the confessions of the three 
 prisoners that they were members of the illegal and cor- 
 rupt combination, and you have superadded to this, and in 
 support of it, the testimony of the witnesses who speak of 
 the actual participation of Blanks and Howard in the un- 
 holy business for which the organization was termed. 
 
 As to the defense of previous good character, I instruct 
 you that the law presumes a man who has lived a good 
 life, who has been honest and honorable, who is in sound 
 repute with his neighbors and acquaintances, will not 
 readily commit a crime. This presumption, until it is met 
 and overcome by evidence that he has actually trans- 
 gressed, is a tower of strength to the accused. When it 
 is so met and overcome, good character is of no further 
 avail. Froof then destroys presumption. 
 
 It is also a maxim of law that an accused person is en- 
 titled to the benefit oi all reasonable doubt of his guilt. 
 Even after the proofs in a case have repelled the presurnp 
 tion of a good character with which every defense sets out, 
 there remains to it the benefit of this reasonable doubt. 
 Tnis is the property of the accused, of which nothing but 
 u verdict deprives him. The doubt, to be within the legal 
 rule, must not be the result of speculation and surmis'e. 
 It must be the legitimate result and outgrowth of the 
 evidence in the case, and 8"ch a doubt as an honest and 
 intelligent man would feel in respect of some matter of 
 great personal concern. 
 
 The prisoners, Howard and Blanks, do not attempt to 
 offer any affirmative defense. Not a single human being is 
 called upon their behalf. The prisoner. Gray, relies upon 
 the testimony of the brother-in law and the brother of the 
 notorious Riifus Barrons, as to Gray's previous good char- 
 acter, for defense. You will determine how much this tes- 
 timony is worth, and whether you will allow it to overcome 
 the case made against him by the United States. 
 
 I will detain you no longer, gentlemen. The case does 
 not warrant or justify an extended charge from the Court. 
 All the facts of it are within a narrow compass. If the 
 witnesses for the prosecution have not committed perjury, 
 the case for the government is made out, and the prisoners 
 are proven guilty. I know that you will render a verdict 
 that shall satisfy the demands of justice. Any other will 
 be a miafortane and a reproach. 
 
^^/[(r'sjtJ'tjV^'ri thuH'ijliou'fi th tM',«o,?iii'd''Ht^t; t^ic»y UU \tei*e for 
 'tK^' 6YjV-fimF^' ^Trfch'-'MsMievtV l^o^^i tbld, the tictimi 
 
 o\ MaibalriM, 'Uiis bVUiif foHc-f^l'^ ■t;<<uv.lj|Al JbYittil vfttim- ;th«i 
 
 '(^'oosa' c^iijitv,' xV^T^jiVr, n|)!|V<!fi!<!(F 'flvUv- iiiVo/'iiv ymisenoe-- wf 
 (j^'nfeVaP J.' 'ij.' GlH)ifhn,;Ah<]"bvr6iAi >\f)y (Vt'fthlfvVi- pi-ojtacii^ 
 timis,' wleVd' t!(MViu'oifeeVP;-ty ,'fiik(l- W-fiv<Ji, |>;lit to- sn|»^ 
 
 'VecC t1/dVie^^t^6Ls'\»'i^''K'is.''ftiriii;'i!r'tiVdr"^ hiis 
 
 noj^rooii'j'vVdre ^oKrrtfi»-H'-''tili^dak>'i4(l, ANtliti' Wvi.-^ dtmbtfrvl if 
 
 |fi'e Vq'iila bb' HVjfu 'ft) ktrefy iTiciin -tip'rth liik tAVW. nhd thab Huch 
 iVe i(i', 111 f» , t ooTf I f <,^s ' ii liijili tl st 1 1 fiii t b ; « t hi iy t h I \vr< 1 jc could : sh v . 
 
 /<yotY''/ ,''J,:)^'<^ ' t U'Vj^so-i-lTiin k 'dI: f IH i.-^^ ^ta (q' lU %\\ i i i^M. * • ■ jl*]. -M. 
 
 'VAvUii^-l, ;l iJehioorat', ;\iifl ft! 'WortliV i^m'l-Uof*<>i>:d>ii*i'TftHi<» in 
 
 .'I'alljiijDDsa, opposed to the K._ K. K., tHe Pib^^i'hOTrs^' Jju 
 Wb'icU'Lp ydifj't \V;\rf ' r/iMiidU,' KC -K'." i)V>l*icl'M 1 l^rHiit(!yrtii)|;i ■ li i m 
 
 \ Hi0'or^tyi\)S^h\)fathH6ik^' imuM\\\\\y,'ikiuA<'^up 'aC 'his gnlfe, 
 
 . a j i d* 'U) o niVe'st i un'if i < W/sTi ( i (v.^ 
 
 l'i?6:'''I)^,iiiiAl /Taylor;' ;i I)6i^btTr(t aC 'TaHiiMV).^:!, a^ ' fu;\n 'dt 
 proiVtirty, df iuU'kci'pV.or)'.\h\c i-hhrik-ior, bm^^tso bft wrtdiT- 
 t'qdk'ti) inn Ills fai'i'n with Ibi,' hibor tllitt h(^Jd«H"rWd'bo«t io 
 
 ' bfs HVrtiHt''!^t, Vi'it(l' '(?/ lVi^(\1'f'<'!t"fh;t't'=l'alLW; iVH^'iHnuov(»<1, 
 tVi«|(ialohin]'Yiiid iHliitllylia(^'lt*ri^'Vh\fcr^^^ rH-'tiie 
 
 ' lhV)\LsiUi'i1 dollar^- l>nl-'n(ird', '5lIi<^'hb l*i'i<tl butiir frtf ucVl to take 
 
 'Ills' la'irii^v jto' Opi'lil^/." .fbhfr'P: Siii1tFr,"h»iiUi(d-iw M»>i>t- 
 
 !'|i:/mieiy c.^^^^ u l;b!;t-'<it'Hi'f^' ^Idi6r and it hM|m«;,«}vt, h.-t- 
 
 'In^ m'li luiii^nj* asau'ihill'o'ii'thf^Si'hiK! N; H; 'It. .'in IJa>kor 
 f^Vmiitv, liiidiii^' it '\iC(*.e>isHiVH(i' Jrtlphw (^>'Mi<h1 '];?vb(ir( wAs 
 
 ' iVi'ii'r tf/ro;Uotid; iliid tTil-i) fib' ^^iitimbfy'riij^'btv Jiiil(>- Stb, 187'J. 
 bad bU premises Visited hv'^^'^^rt'iwd 'of f^Tt^'diii^tlirod 
 ^'^eV/'sbtiio M 'fhfc"'(iolirfed'|iUirJ*vH^rtiWioir Jiid cxoo'ot Iwd 
 6 
 
»8 
 
 tenements occupied by a widow aud ber children burned. 
 Three men charged with this have been bound over to 
 aMe«\ver at the next term ot the United States Disstrict 
 Court. Posey McConnell, of Fayette county, has had 
 great trouble with the K. K., intimidating, threatening 
 and running of his colored laborers*. fJe is one of the 
 wealthiest men and best citizens in the county opposed t'> 
 K. K. He told me himself it things continued, he woidd 
 Ijave to leave the country. A tew other similar cases in 
 diflFerent places might be given. 
 
 There is one other feature of this monstrous klan to 
 which I call your attention. It is the manner in which 
 young men and boys are drawn into it. A proposition is 
 made to them to go to see a little fun. Uususpectingly 
 they agree to it, and start off with a crowd not knowing or 
 suspectinLC any thing wroi»g, get off to some old field or 
 woods, all halt, some disguise themselves, others, who have 
 no disguise, are directed to put their shirts and drawers 
 over their pants and coats. In this situaton a negro is 
 whipped, in a few instances killed At once the obligation 
 is read, and the penalty of disclosing explained, and 
 whether the young man or boy takes the obligation or not 
 he is enrolled as a member and his mouth shut. Such was 
 the case with several who have since disclosed and have 
 been sworn as witnesses, and for which they liave been 
 so bitterly denounced. And in this way your sons have 
 beer), and were being, unsuspectingi}' to you, and without 
 intendi«g it themselves, drawn into this most diabolical 
 conspiracy against the rights and privileges of citizens, 
 and against tlii^ peace and good order ot society and the 
 government itself. 
 
 But perhaps you are ready to say, we are opposed to all 
 this, but it should be put down by the local or State au- 
 thority. In answer to this, I call your attention to the fact 
 that the very journals and political leaders* that have, and 
 »re now so bitterly denouncing the National Government, 
 denounced with equal bitterness, all State legislation for ^ 
 the purpose; that they denounced Governor Smith and a 
 Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, for attempting 
 to investigate and put down this organized lawlessness, 
 with as much bitterness as they now denounce the Presi- 
 dent and Judges of the National Courts, and I at-k you to 
 seriously answer your own consciences, if the National 
 Government is deprived of all power to act by its Courts 
 or otherwise, is it not to put the Govennnent completely 
 in the control of these klans, and then what would be the 
 situation ? Let the past and late developments answer the 
 
23 
 
 question. Life, liberty iiiid property never was more in- 
 secnre in Mexico, with her j;ue»TillaK, fjroascrt', banditRand 
 revolntiortary bands, than it would be in these States, and 
 the result would be revolutioji alter revolution, untd our 
 entire system of trovernmont would be overthrown, and a 
 monachy or military deepotism would rise upon its ruins. 
 I know that a majority of our people are as pood as any in 
 iho world, but I know of hundreds of men in different lo- 
 caliti<?H who, having; expressed themselves against this 
 or>2;ani7;ation, have been, by their friendd, taken aside and 
 Hdmonished and advised to be more careful and guarded 
 in their expressions. I know for opinions aoit utterances 
 like these I have been, and will be airain denounced as an 
 enemy, who is trving to persecute, Oppress and degrade 
 thn people of Alabama. 
 
 1 submit to your serious consideration and just judg- 
 ment, whether I. who hav«i and am doing all in tny power 
 to protect the large mass of the people, who are peaceable, 
 law-abiding and good, against the liwh^ss b mds of con- 
 spirators, who constitute tlie minority, but who infest and 
 ruin the credit of our State and people, wlio are de- 
 priving citizens ot their rights, who are constantly bring- 
 in-- distress, misery, sulfering and ruin upon c uumunities, 
 misery and rain upon taiuilies, destrox'ing the peace and 
 quiet of the State, and endangering the existence of the 
 govprnmiMit itself, tim not, instead of the enemy, the true 
 triund of the people? And if those wIjo are c(Mistantly and 
 persistently, by appealing to passion and prejudice, trying 
 to induce our people to make the cause of these bands of 
 conspirators their cause, are not the real enemies of our 
 people ? And if th -y succeed, if thej will not bring per- 
 secutions, prosecutions, disgrace and ruin upon our State 
 and {)eople ? I beg j'ou to think of this calmnl}* and seri- 
 ously, do not be iruided by passion and prejudice, do not 
 let ns make any more mistakes. 
 
 In c»)ncInsion, 1 assure you I have no malice or vindic- 
 tiveness to gratifiy, I have no feelings of ill will or malicn 
 against any human being in the Slate. 1 have, and shall 
 continue, to the best ot my ability, do my whole duty at all 
 haz/.ards, at any risk, and to the last extremity, at th«? samo 
 time to the utnif>>t ot my ability, avoid olfendingany per- 
 
 H or dealing harshly or (tppressively with any. No man 
 
 more then 1 would rtjoiro la see a state of things that 
 would j list d'y all prosecutions in the National Courts should 
 cease, in salcty to the rights and priviliges of all citizens. 
 Yea, more, that all who have been, or may bo convicted, 
 could safely be pardoned and return to their homes and 
 
24 
 -ai 91001 Hiiv/ 'i:in'n /JtoqcTij Inw- 7)'>Q'Mi ,oYhl arohaorip 
 
 ft(ftffe '?f6^'''6W(i'fatli^^i '' i know that nGyiniatTiidfeeire-S', t^y*? 
 >^¥fe'^)t*Hllin'i^'s''1iiftr^''felviie«^^ than Pposid-^iitfrCri'a'ut'v-yijNtil 
 tio uiaii tnoVti-r6rtdyiiibo<^<i;laith to accept ai)d;a;(i2km»V)lWit|. 
 
 m:vrft' ;Itid wiir*pWt^et''it^~^^itiz<3n». :.A; govcrnrnoiit ?th;it 
 Jails in this/ift'i^ntiiwOrtliythie ms;pe^cytf-e&tie*jm,.»ud.;8UW>iWl' 
 
 lof^itiuiately t'of1ffei^f-^d''"|>Mi'4fVfa! to pvotvct :tl»«i> n^^'Uf ♦^'J 
 tflo citizerys;-! liu^(? ilo donlltf ttmHot it behfxiiiy^JJj'jmutl, 
 
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